Sudan,CPA and the Visit to Washington

There are many article about the visit, a lot of them have deferent perspective but many of them point at the topics such as census, elections, border demarcation, democratic transformation and self-determination.

here are some article about the visit

http://allafrica.com/stories/200212170134.html

http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=46646

 

The wireless camel,telecommunication in Sudan.

The wireless camel. an interesting documentary about Sudan growing telecommunication market. when i was there almost everyone owned a mobile, they are popular and at good range of price to all level of income. there are even machines that would recharge your cell phone with a 1 Sudanese pound of credited which is equivalent to 50cent. the market is there and it would grow as the economy grows.

An insider look at the Darfur Struggles

i has been long since my last post. but i have been busy watching documentaries and debates about Sudan and other countries in the area. some of these debate are very much on the point about Sudan but some of them seems to be out of bound and are not talking about the Sudan that we Sudanese know. there is an interesting debate from The BBC hardtalk show and i wish to shear it here. feel free to comment on the show, and hope to read your thoughts

the hardtalk show is with Tadjadine Bashir Niam the  Secretary of External Affairs for the United Resistance Front. it gives an insider perspective in the Darfur struggle in Sudan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/8077553.stm

Iran 2009 He is twittering !?

     twitter and it effect on the current crisis in Iran is huge, after all a huge percentage of Iran population is under 25 and are well aware of the effect of technology on the netcitizen of the web. in China Tiananmen Square uprising, he was alone,now he has the whole world watching and reading what he wants to say. truly we in a bounder-less world. please feel free to comment and tell me what he is twittering about

Sudan presses new Press Law, What dose it means for journalist

         Finally the Sudanese national Assembly passed Sudan new press law on Monday June 8. but the question is what is the deference between the first draft and the final draft of this press law. is there still remain some restriction to the right of journalist or not in this new press law.I have posted a blog post about this law when it was in the bill stage (proposed Law stage)  in a blog post titled STOP Censorship: Sudan Government tries to issue law on journalism. the bill has finally became a law and it has been passed.  nonetheless as i asked previously what is the deference from the first draft and the final draft of this law. to answer this question lets just go back in time and see what had happened inside Sudan National Assembly Parliament that led to this law bill to change for lesser restriction against journalist. when the bill was suggested in the National Assembly many members of the parliament have abandoned there seat to exit the building in a strong retributive reaction toward the bill. in this post i would like to state what was the restriction that the bill imposed and what wore the reaction of some parliament members toward this law.

for example a spoke personal from the national alliance stated

Parliamentary member Farouk Abu-Issa, head of the National Democratic Alliance,
who calls the bill “unjust, repressive and vague”, says that he and other independent deputies presented a “good democratic draft of [a] press law”, but this was ignored by parliament.

and also for example an editor-in chief of a news paper

Murtada al-Ghali, editor-in chief of the Freedom Bells newspaper, described the draft law as the most “restrictive” media legislation to emerge in Sudan.

“The law insists… on punishment,” he said, “[and] it is aggressive punishment.”

Some of the most controversial issues that circled around this bill was the finical punishment  and banning/suspension punishment toward the newspaper or the Author. The financial punishment  toward the newspaper or the author could reach up to 50,000 Sudanese Pounds or 21,000 US dollar which is a huge sum of money in a developing country such as Sudan for a journalist. in case of the banning/suspension  of the newspaper of the journalist articles the duration is to be decided by the court. the new change in the bill from it first draft is that the payment of 21,000 US has been removed but the court can assign a payment penalty to a journalist or the newspaper. in the banning/suspension case it is still under the court jurisdiction to decide the time and the duration of the suspension. of course what i have just discussed in this post is just the tip of the iceberg in the criteria and requirement that comes with the passing of this law on journalist and newspaper. Nevertheless the good news is that the change toward more freedom of expression and less restriction and punishment has been felt in the final draft of this article more this it first draft. as one of the newpaper editor in chief state that the change to the final version from the first version is almost 80%. this of course after many protest toward the law from outside(by journalist) and and inside the parliament(by parliament Members).

As for my reaction lets just say no comment!!!!!!!. but here is what i can say there still hopes in changing this law and i hope for those parliament members to push more for lesser restriction before the upcoming election in 2010. as for you dear reader i know i cant request you to shear your thought in this case(sorry for the no comment statement) , but wishes that if you have any comment or an issues you wish to state please feel free to do so.

 

article related to this law

Reuters: Sudan gets new press law but restrictions remain

All Africa: Sudan: Press Law Storm

Sudan Tribune: Sudanese parliament pass new press law

Technorati Tags: Africa, Sudan, Press, Mass Media, Newspaper

Way to go South Africa, i want to go there for the world Cup.

     I want to go there!!!. One year left to the world cup in the South Africa. next year in the same date as today June 11 the world cup will kickoff it first match in South Africa.With all of the economic recession felt around the world South Africa is on the track for hosting the first world cup in the history of the African continent.

 

 

i believe constructive criticism is the key, i didn't like the way this person criticized the system without finding an answer to mitigate the problems that that system had. i hope everything work out for the best for this upcoming world cup with all of these global event happening now a days it is hard wait and see what will happen to the world most watch sporting event, lets just hope and pray for the best.

Technorati Tags: Africa,World Cup,Economics,South Africa

Finding Nemo in Sudan by the Red Sea!!!

 

     PortSudan is the main port of Sudan. There in the red sea you can go scuba diving,sightsee the wonderful scenery, or even do some fishing. The red sea is known for many things but I didn't know that Nemo lives there. Yes Nemo. I guess that why there was a shark in finding nemo Animation movie, by the way the red sea is known to have sharks too, now this I know, I know it had sharks but not Nemo. After all Sudan is part of Nemo’s home. I think they first nickname the anemone fish aka clownfish Nemo in Finding Nemo animation movie, it seems maybe the name Nemo comes from anemone where a,n and one e is removed and the rest is rearranged to Nemo but after all that just my guess. I have added a clip that I saw about anemone blow.

Special thank to the person who uploaded the clip to YouTube. Thank you

 

Amazing facts about Anemone fish aka Clown fish aka Nemo. from here by referred to by Nemo

Anemone is the name of a sea polyp where Nemo and his family can live safely and happily from other fish EXCEPT FROM THE EVIL HUMANS.

Nemo fish has what might be called symbiosis relation with sea Anemone in the sea by which

1. Nemo lives in the Sea Anemone and has immunity against the Anemone poisonous tentacles.

2. Nemo fish usually venture around the sea Anemone and bring back food in forum of predator so that Anemone use it poisonous tentacles to attach it and then eat it.

3. It is said that if a Nemo is lost in sea or doesn’t find his sea Anemone(home) he has high chance of dying.

Technorati Tags: Africa,Sudan,Red Sea

Do you know who was President Obama talking to in Egypt?

 

      assalaamu alaykum ( peace be Upon you) is how president Obama speech started. a greetings of peace in a region that for long has been and is a region of many conflicts from the Palestine-Israeli conflict to the Darfur crisis. President Obama speech was broadcasted in many channels, it was debated in many online social network sites, it was broadcasted live through the Internet, and it was even send to cell phone users by SMS in four different languages to all of the world. I guess after all we truly live in a ubiquitous world. President Obama speech was magnificent, it was inspiring, uplifting and above all it was for a new start.

     To whom was President Obama directing his speech to? Was this speech to the middle east only, and last but not least, What were the reactions of Arabs in the Middle East toward his speech? I will try to answer these questions but first let's understand the environment of which this speech was giving at. President Obama message to the Middle East wasn't just about peace and democracy in the Middle East . It was more like starting a new chapter between the between the US and the Middle East,i was more like starting a new page and in that speech president Obama stated common grounds that all people from any religion who are in the middle east can understand and related to . his speech was for a fresh start and a new beginning. he pointed out many issues that have been for long tackled and debated in the hearts and minds of people in the middle east and today he opens a dialogue to help and promote new ideas to fix these issue and debate them.I did notice that most of the issues that President Obama was lecturing  on was targeting the youth of the Middle East, the young generation that is growing with new ideas of democracy, development and the mutual understanding between the East and  the West. In a sense president Obama speech was not only directed to the Middle East it was also directed to the Muslim world. Pointing out issues such as extremism, Palestinian Israeli conflict, democracy, and women right to education are all common shared issues founded in the Muslim world. I really was amazed at his knowledge of the Holy Koran when he pointed out this in his speech

“They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths - more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace.” President Obama 

"The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few," President Obama said. "Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism, it is an important part of promoting peace." President Obama said.

I as a Middle Eastern and as Muslim person know that the issue of extremism does not only encompasses the Middle East but it also expands outward to many parts of the Muslim world I also believe that Islam does not preach extremism but there are some people who believe in violence and they don't represent Islam nor does Islam need to be represented by them. i don't agree with the concepts that the end justify the means nor do i agree that violence solves conflicts.I believe President Obama's message for the youth of the Middle East and the Muslim world to know that we are with you, that together we can combat ignorance, prejudice, poverty and most of all hatreds toward one another.

i underlined what i am going to talk about in the next paragraph.

“Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.”President Obama

Way to go on this one president Obama, i always say that we need to not blame other for our shortcoming, to not look outward for our mistakes.we need not to blame the world for our short coming, we need to blame ourselves and only in that we can stop blaming the world and start getting in control of our world, our own development and most of all ending the seemingly everlasting conflict that raging all around us. looking inward for solutions to our problems and outward for way to mitigate them.we need to not look at problems that are crucial for our development such as improvement of standards of education,human right violation and violent extremism. most of all the straight to accepts constructive criticism even if it is towards a nation’s core system.

As to the final question that I have stated in the beginning of this post, there have been lots of comments and news interviews about president Obama speech, some of them were optimistic and some of the pessimistic and some of them leaned to the aspect of let’s-wait-and-see what will happen in the upcoming days, months or even years of his presidency. And of course they are those who just want action and by doing so they withhold any comment for the time being. And then I need to not forget the extremist who did not believe anything of what he said,O well that the Middle East.

I would like to end this post with a wise and a wonderful joke that I have read in one of THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN New York Times Op-Ed Columnist titled Obama On Obama. I have quoted the joke of his article and here it is.

“There is this very pious Jew named Goldberg who always dreamed of winning the lottery. Every Sabbath, he’d go to synagogue and pray: “God, I have been such a pious Jew all my life. What would be so bad if I won the lottery?” But the lottery would come and Goldberg wouldn’t win. Week after week, Goldberg would pray to win the lottery, but the lottery would come and Goldberg wouldn’t win. Finally, one Sabbath, Goldberg wails to the heavens and says: “God, I have been so pious for so long, what do I have to do to win the lottery?”

And the heavens parted and the voice of God came down: “Goldberg, give me a chance! Buy a ticket!””

From Obama On Obama article by the Famous THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

I highly recommend reading this article Obama on Obama by THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN. After reading it I hope to ask you a question, are you willing to buy the ticket, are you will to give him President Obama a chance.

Finally, I would like to thank you very much for reading this blog post and hope to see some of your comments and thoughts about this post, the speech, or anything you wish to point out. Please feel free to do so and please don't forget to till me if you are going to buy the ticket.

 

Side Note: Issues Addressed  by President Obama in Egypt.

1. violent extremism in all of its forms.
2. the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
3. The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.
4. democracy.
5. religious freedom.
6. women's rights.
7. economic development and opportunity

Technorati Tags: Middle East, Politics Obama Obama Speech

We all can be a role model for the middle east, Can we ?!!

     Yes we all can!!!. I believe that the Middle East is in need of new faces,of new role models and of new ideas. These new role models need to not give up the prospect of changing the Middle East, changing the way we view the world, changing the way we think about the future, changing who we blame for our shortcomings, for not being on the forefront of innovation and development, changing the prospect of remembering the past but also not holding tight to it, changing the prospect of looking at the future and not assuming that it is too late for change. we still have a generation that believes in the past, that believes in all the glories and civilizations and innovations that the Middle East had.

     I believe that one of the problems that we have in the Middle East is that we always tend to look to the past, we always talk about the past civilizations, about how the Middle East contributed to science and innovation. We always talk about how algebra origins comes from  Middle Eastern. We always talk about our contributions to science in the past, but all of this stops when we want to talk about the present, when we want to talk about the future when we want to talk about change. Yes we were, yes we were in the past .

     Now we are not, now we are not at the forefront of innovation, now we are not at the forefront of science & education and definitely now we are not at the forefront of civilization. We need to start looking at facts, we need to start looking at the present, and in fact the present draws an ugly picture of itself for the middle east. In the present some countries in the Middle East have some of the highest illiteracy rates around the world. We have some countries in the Middle East who have some of the lowest GDP and income per capita. we have some countries with the a very low educational level.We have some of the highest number of conflict zone in the world or i guess we are holding the title of having the highest number of conflict zone in the world. from Palestine and Israel conflict, to the current conflict in Darfur, Sudan and the list goes on. But that's not all of it, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Yes we need role models in the Middle East but we need them to look at the present not the past we need them to accept that there is this ugly picture of the Middle East that requires new perspective, new ideas, and foremost new mindset. We need them to look for our similarities and accept our differences.that requires us to accepts it and work with it and to find solution to mitigate it. Because it seems that whenever we look at the middle east, we always look for our differences.Tell me what you think, do we really need new role models or do we already have them???

here are some opinions please shear yours by a comment.

 

 

what are you waiting for till me what you think!!!! :)

Technorati Tags: Middle East, Politics